[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5365]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             PROTECT THE FAMILIES OF FALLEN SERVICEMEMBERS

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                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to introduce H.R. 1263, to 
amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide surviving spouses 
with certain protections relating to mortgages and mortgage 
foreclosures.
  Protecting our veterans and service members is important, but their 
families are an extension of our military families and affording them 
equal mortgage foreclosure protection is just as important.
  The death of a servicemember while in service, can be hard for a 
spouse as they adjust to a new life without their loved one, this 
includes a single family income, which in many instances is not enough 
to provide for a family and make their mortgage payments. Extending 
these protections would allow grieving spouses 9 months to work on a 
resolution with their lender or sell their home, if necessary.
  Servicemembers currently receive foreclosure protections for 9 months 
after the end of military service. These protections under the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) are meant to allow a period of 
transition and adjustment after service. Unfortunately, this protection 
does not exist for spouses. That is why today I am introducing this 
legislation.
  H.R. 1263 amends the SCRA by extending protection against mortgage 
foreclosure for 9 months to a surviving spouse of servicemember who 
died while in military service and their death is service connected and 
the individual is the successor of the servicemember's property. In 
conclusion, H.R. 1263 takes an important step toward protecting the 
families of our brave fallen heroes. I urge my colleagues to support 
H.R. 1263.

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